Soap-holder.



O. L. BRAY.

SOAP HOLDER.

APPLICATION men MAR. 7, 1916.

1 ,21 9,370. Patented Mar. 13, 1917.

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OLIVER L. EBAY, 0F CLIFTON, ARIZONA.

SOAP-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 13, 191?.

Application filed March 7, 1916. Serial No. 82,728.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER L. BRAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Clifton, in the county of Greenlee and State of Arizona, have invented new and useful Improvements in Soap-Holders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a receptacle which may be attached to a support above a stationary wash basin or the like to receive a cake of soap.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a soap holder of the class described having a lever operated cover and a hinged bottom connected with the holder and sup ported upon the lever for raising the cover in such a manner that when the cover is in a raised position and a cake of soap is deposited within the holder and upon said bottom, the lever will be operated by the weight of the cake of soap to cause the lever to automatically close the cover.

Another object of the invention is to provide a supporting base for the holder which may be formed from a single strand of material and have a portion thereof bent upon itself to provide a loop, the sides of which serve as a guide for the lever which is 'connected with the cover and supports the floor of the holder.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel means for engagement with the cover operating lever whereby when the cover is raised, one end of the lever will be supported by said means in such a manner that the weight of the soap placed within the holder will automatically release said lever from said means thereby permitting the cover to be closed by the weight of the soap.

With these and other objects in View, the invention resides in the novel combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing, although no restriction is necessarily made to the precise det'ailsof [construction therein shown, as changes, alterations, and modifications within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to when so desired.

Like characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the severalviews in the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the'soap holder constructed in accordance with the invention showing the cover of the holder in raised position.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view through the holder to more clearly illustrate the arrangement of the cover mechanism and showing the cover on the holder in closed position.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the holder, the cover thereon being shown in closed position.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the numeral 1 designates a portion of any suitable support to which the holder may be connected and having connected therewith the holder base 2, said base being formed from a strip of heavy wire bent in U-form to provide spaced and parallel supporting arms 3 connected at their forward ends by the intermediate portion of the strip of material designated by the numeral 4, said portion 4 being bent between its ends to provide a loop 5 for a purpose which will be hereinafter described. The supporting arms 3 are bent between their ends to provide vertically extending attaching portions 6, the free ends of which are looped, as at 7 to receive suitable fastening elements by means of which the base 'may be connected with the support 1.

A substantially rectangular shaped frame 7 which might be termed the bodyof the holder is connected at its corners with the supporting arms 3 by means of feet 8, the lowerends of which are looped about the supporting arms 3 and space the body from said arms.

A cross bar 9 extends transversely between the supporting arms 3 and in spaced relation with the feet 8 and has formed therein between its ends a loop 10 providing a fulcrum for a cover operating lever 11 "passed through said loop with the forward portion of the lever received in the loop 5 in the base, the side walls of said loop serving as a guide for said lever.

A cover 12 is hingedly connected with one side of the body 7 and normally rests thereon to close the open top of the body,.said cover being provided between its ends on the side edge thereof which is hingedly connected with the body 7 with an extension 13 to which is connected one end of a link 14, the other end of which is pivotally connected with the rear end of the cover operating 1e-.

ver 11 so that when the forward end of said lever is manually raised the link will pull the cover 12 to raised position.

A floor or bottom 15 which comprises a frame work formed from longitudinally extending and transversely extending bars 16 and 17 is hingedly connected with the rear wall 18 of the body 7" by the transversely extending bars 17 near the ends of the frame Work, each of said end bars having one end thereof looped about the lower rail of the rear wall of the body 7 to hingedly connect the bottom therewith. The ends of the longitudinally extending bars 16 are bent upwardly to engage with the soap deposited upon the bottom and prevent the same from escaping when worn thin from between the bottom and the lower edge of the sides of the body 7 Secured between the ends of the front wall 19 of the body 7 and extending below the same is a latch 20 formed from some suitable resilient material and bent near one end thereof to provide an offset and inclined portion 21, upon which may be arranged the forward end of the cover operating lever when said lever is raised to cause the link 14 to raise the cover 12, said forward end of the lever being received upon'the offset portion 21 of the latch and supported thereby thus holding the cover in a raised position.

- The cover operating lever 11 is provided between its pivotal connection with the cross bar 9 and its forward end with an upstruck portion 22 which contacts with the underside of the floor or bottom 15 so that when the lever 11 is raised to raise the cover the floor 15 will also be swung about its pivotal connection with the rear wall of the body 7" and cause the soap supported thereon to extend slightly above the top of the body thus enabling the soap to be readily grasped by the hand of the user and removed from the holder. 7

When the holder has been connected with a support by means of its base 2 and it is desired to use the cake of soap contained within the holder, the finger is engaged with the forward end of the lever 11 and the lever moved to a position to be supported on the inclined and offset portion 21 in the latch 20, the soap may now be removed from the V holder while the cover is retained in a raised position and upon again replacing the soap within the holder and upon the bottom 15, the weight of the soap will release the forward end of the lever from the inclined and offset portion 21 and cause the lever to be rocked on the cross bar 9 through the contact with the upstruck portion 22 in the lever 11 with the bottom 15, such turning movement of the lever upon the bar 9 causing the link 14 to move upwardly and automatically close the cover 12.

By bending the ends of the longitudinally extending bars upwardly, the ends of the bottom 15 are spaced from the end Walls of the body 7 a sufficient distance to insure the proper ventilation of the body when the cover is closed thus keeping the soap hard and firm as all sides of the same will be in contact with the atmosphere.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with, the accompanying drawing it is at once apparent that a soap holder has been provided which is simple in construction, inexpensive of manufacture and highly eflicient in use.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. A soap holder having a base for connection with a support, a body supported by said base, a cover hingedly connected to said body, a lever connected with said base and cover and adapted when operated to raise said cover, and a bottom hingedly connected with the body and supported by said lever whereby when an article is placed within the body and upon said bottom, the lever will be operated by the weight of the article to move said cover to a closed position.

2. A soap holder having a base for connection with a support, a body carried by said base, a cover hingedly connected with the body, a bottom hingedly connected with the body, a lever mounted on said base for swinging movement and connected with the cover and contacting with the bottom and adapted when operated to simultaneously raise said cover and bottom, and a latch member carried by said body and engageable with said lever whereby said cover and bottom will be retained in a raised position.

3. A soap holder having a base for connection with a support, a body carried'by said base, a cover hinged to said body, a cross bar on the base, a lever connected with the cover and mounted between its ends for turning movement on the cross bar to raise said cover to an open position, a member rigidly connected with the body and extending below the same and provided with an inclined and offset portion to engage said lever and retain the cover in a raised position, and a bottom hingedly connected with the body and supported by said lever whereby when an article is placed upon the bottom the weight of said article will co-act with the inolined ofl'set portion on said member to release the lever therefrom and move the cover to a closed position.

' 4. A soap holder having a body, a hinged cover connected with the body, a bottom hingedly connected with the body below the cover, a cross bar below said bottom, a lever mounted to turn on said cross bar and connected with the cover and having an upstruck portion between its ends for contact 'with said bottom whereby when the lever is of material bent between its ends to provide spaced parallel arms for connection with said body and the cross bar, and an intermediate portion upon said strip looped between its ends to receive the forward end of said lever and provide a guide therefor.

5. A soap holder having a body, a cover hinged to said body, a bottom hinged to the body, feet extending below the body, a cross bar, a lever mounted to turn on said cross bar and connected with the cover, an upstruck portion on said lever for contact with said bottom, a strip of material bent between its ends to provide spaced and parallel supporting arms engaged with said feet and the cross bar, an intermediate portion on said strip connecting said arms and looped between its ends to receive the forward end of said lever and provide a guide therefor, and vertically extending portions on said arms providing attaching portions for said holder.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OLIVER L. BRAY.

Witnesses:

BEN M. CRAWFORD, IRA G. (10011.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G. 

